The present invention generally relates to devices and methods for providing purified or specially treated drinking water from relatively less pure tap water sources. More particularly, it relates to a new and improved portable self-contained water treatment and jug storage apparatus including a refrigerator storage jug having water treating and connector elements mounted thereon which may be placed on a countertop adjacent a household sink to be filled/refilled with purified drinking water and thereafter the jug may be disconnected and placed in a refrigerator to dispense chilled drinking water in use.
Consumer awareness about drinking water quality has greatly increased in recent years, since the creation of the E.P.A. and the growth in environmental studies and ecology. Consumers today are concerned about the safety of their municipal and well water supplies. Accordingly, many consumers have begun purchasing bottled water for drinking, typically in the form of one gallon throw-away plastic jugs sold at supermarkets. In addition to being cumbersome and somewhat expensive, the residual throw-away jugs undesirably increase non-biodegradable solid waste needing disposal in already over-burdened municipal landfills. A re-usable and/or refillable jug system would be preferable for many reasons.
Concurrently, the development of products for various water treating systems has also greatly increased in recent years. Special filters or treatment modules often including mechanical or chemical removal media are now known for selectively removing one or more impurities from a flow of source water to be treated. Activated charcoal filters, sediment filters, microfilters for removal of bacteria, and the like have become common-place. Reverse osmosis (R.O.) membrane filters for reducing the total dissolved solids content of water are also well known. Ceramic filters and specialty filters for removing lead, iron, nitrates, sulfates and/or other targeted impurities are commercially available. Treatment modules for adding nutrients such as fluoride, calcium and/or vitamins may also be available in standardized filter module or filter cartridge sizes and shapes for plug-in connections to a number of household water treating systems.
Prior art water filtration purification systems, particularly those including a R.O. filter element, typically are rather cumbersome systems adapted for under the sink mounting and installation. Special hardware and plumbing connections are needed for installing, maintaining or servicing these systems. Moreover, a skilled technician or plumber/contractor is usually required for initial installation and maintenance.
More recently, countertop R.O. water filtration purification systems have been developed. The countertop R.O. systems are mounted on a countertop surface adjacent a kitchen sink with various tubing and hose connections extending between the sink faucet and the filter unit and between the filter unit and the sink drain. The R.O. membrane filters make purified product water at a slow rate so that direct dispensing of purified R.O. water from a tap water supply is generally not possible or practical. As a result, the R.O. system is permitted to operate over an extended time period and the product water made is stored in tanks or storage vessels for dispensing. The storage vessels are generally large enough to hold more than a gallon of water and accordingly, the vessels and countertop arrangements frequently occupy a large amount of counter space adjacent the sink, where space is usually at premium.
Illustrative prior art countertop R.O. systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,219 to Maples; U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,844 to Lipschultz et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,724 to Bray et al. The Maples arrangement includes a disconnectable storage container for purified water which may be placed in a refrigerator. The base of the device is adapted to remain beside the sink which takes up space. The Lipschultz et al. device also includes an enlarged base holding various filter elements and an upper reservoir portion which does not appear to be removable. The Bray et al. device includes an enlarged pump driven microfilter base unit and a pair of detachable container bottles. Instead of providing a sink and drain connection to supply tap water to be purified, one of the container bottles must be filled by hand and placed on the stand to provide source water. This latter arrangement would not be suited for R.O. filtration systems because, in R.O. systems, large quantities of tap water are used to make small quantities of purified R.O. drinking water. Accordingly, in the Bray et al. device one container would have to be about 3-5 times larger than the other purified water container which is impractical. Moreover, a self-contained unit would mean that repeated disconnection of a storage vessel from a treatment system could be avoided, thereby decreasing the risk or likelihood of bacterial contamination.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for providing a refillable supply of purified drinking water for self-contained storage in a refrigerator.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved countertop R.O. filtration purification system which may be completely removed from the countertop as a unit and placed in a refrigerator without additional water transfer steps being required.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a portable and refrigeratable R.O. filtration/storage jug device, so that a consumer can have purified drinking water wherever they may be, in different rental units, on vacation or the like.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a self-contained refrigerator R.O. jug and filter apparatus having quick connect/disconnect features for attachment to a household sink supply of tap water.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self-contained refrigerator R.O. jug and filter apparatus including a filter performance monitor to signal when the useful life of the filter section elements has expired.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved stand-alone refrigerator R.O. jug and water treatment system apparatus including a fluid flow control manifold for making mounted, organized and substantially leak free connections between the filter section and the storage jug for improved management and handling.